


No Comment

by shewritesall



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Domestic Avengers, Parent Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-07-27 22:12:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 12,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16228340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewritesall/pseuds/shewritesall
Summary: It's been decided by both Tony and Pepper Stark that when the time comes, Peter Parker will take over Stark Industries.  After months of planning the best time to announce the new heir to the world, things fall apart and plans are ruined.  Sometimes ruined plans don't change much, but in this case, they change everything.





	1. Chapter 1

"I don't see why I have to go,"  Peter complained, not for the first time that night.  Tony didn't bother answering as he fixed Peter's cuff links so they weren't crooked or forgotten.  "It's not like May will be upset if you leave me alone for the night." 

"We've been over this before, Parker,"  Tony said, flattening Peter's cuffs and looking up at him.  "I don't want my home blown to bits and if I have to go to boring CEO galas, you have to come with me."  He gave Peter a snarky grin and Peter glared at him.  When Pepper walked into the room, both stopped immediately and turned to face her.  She was on her phone, typing something in quickly before she looked up and smiled at them. 

"Are you boys ready yet?"  she asked.  Peter nodded, still not happy that he had to attend the gala.  Pepper smiled encouragingly at him and rubbed his arm.  "You'll be fine, Peter,"  she promised,  "There won't be a single moment where you're alone and we're not staying more than two hours." 

"I say we just stay here and forget about the gala,"  Tony said, snaking an arm around Pepper's waist.  She gave him a look and Peter looked away, fighting the red that crept up his neck.  Even though he'd turned away, he knew the two were kissing and seriously, did they need to do that in front of him? 

"We're going,"  Pepper told Tony firmly, patting his cheek once then stepping out of his arms and walking towards the door.  Happy was waiting outside in the limo, ready to take them from the Stark house in the suburbs to the gala in Manhattan.  After selling Stark Tower and moving upstate, Tony had lasted a whole three days before buying a town house near Peter and his school to prevent the kid from doing too much stupid stuff.  If he did, at least he was close enough to come to the rescue when needed. 

The ride to the gala wasn't terribly long.  The whole time, Pepper quizzed Tony on important people he was supposed to talk to while Peter played  _Flappy Bird_ on his phone.  Whenever Tony didn't get a name and face right, Pepper would turn the photo to Peter and he'd barely have to glance up before the name came to him.  Tony would roll his eyes and claim he just wanted to test Peter, but they all knew that wasn't true.  Peter had been called upon to help answer questions a total of three times when they finally arrived at the gala.  Pepper put the photos away and turned to check on Peter who was nervously looking out the limo window. 

"You ready, Peter?"  she asked.  Peter nodded, but hid in his seat when Happy opened Pepper's door.  She gave him another encouraging smile then slipped out of the limo, into the bright flashing lights coming from the various cameras.  When she looked into the car for Tony and Peter, Tony waved for her to go on without him while Peter continued to hide in his seat.  She did, drawing the paparazzi away from the car while Tony gave Peter a pep talk. 

"Alright, kid,"  he said, shifting in his seat so he could face Peter better.  "Here's the plan: we treat it like a SHIELD mission, right?  Our goal is to find the bad guy,"  Tony paused, grabbing the folder full of photos and shifting through them to find someone he knew wouldn't be coming.  "This guy!  He's our bad guy, alright?  We find him, we can leave.  It's just a mission.  Think you can do that?" 

"Yeah,"  Peter said softly, staring at the face of Robert Paltrain, the man Tony had chosen as their target.  Tony pulled Peter in for a slightly awkward hug, the limo making it a little harder. 

"Let's go get 'em!"  Tony said.  He made sure not to mess up Peter's hair as he let him go then scooted across the seat to the door.  Happy was still standing outside the car, watching as Pepper spoke to some of the cameras.  When Tony tapped on the window, he jumped then opened the door, giving Tony an irritated glare.  Tony grinned and patted him on the shoulder as he stepped out.  Once people spotted Tony, they surrounded him.  Tony panicked just a little, glancing behind him as Peter slipped out of the limo.  The cameras suddenly became more aggressive and the usual questions ("Mr. Stark, tell us about your latest project!", "Who are you wearing tonight, Tony?", and "Are you going to accept Russel Vaugn's proposal of collaborating?") changed to questions regarding Peter. 

"Mr. Stark, is this your son?" 

"Young man, who are you?" 

"Back up!  Move!"  Tony yelled, gently grabbing onto Peter and pulling him behind him.  The cameras followed them all the way to the doors.  When the stepped inside to where the gala was actually taking place, the paparazzi weren't allowed to follow the two anymore and Tony released Peter.  Sometime between the limo and the car, though, Peter had grabbed tightly to the wrist of Tony's suit jacket, no doubt wrinkling it in his quest to calm himself.  Even though Tony had released Peter, Peter didn't let go of him.  When Tony asked if he would let go, Peter shook his head. 

"I never want to do that again,"  he said softly.  Tony felt bad for dragging the kid through the paparazzi, but it was time Peter learned how to face them.  He was graduating high school in two  weeks and after talking to Pepper, May, and Peter about it, Tony had decided Peter would take over Stark Industries when Tony was done.  Unfortunately, that involved galas and rude paparazzi. 

"Hey, you're okay now, Peter,"  Tony said,  "It's all over now."  He carefully pried Peter's fingers off his jacket and Peter grabbed onto his hand.  Tony was immediately reminded of Peter's super strength.  "Maybe cool it with the grip, yeah?"  Peter slowly loosened his grip on Tony's hand until he had all but let go.  "Good job, kiddo.  You're doing fantastic!  Now we just have to talk to stuffy businessmen while trying seek out the target.  Remember who it was?" 

"Robert Paltrain,"  Peter muttered.  Tony grinned and nodded. 

"Good job,"  he said,  "Now, let's go get some drinks then find our bad guy." 


	2. Chapter 2

Pepper wasn't entirely sure what she was going to do.  The gala had only been two nights ago, but #TonyStarksSon was trending all over the internet and multiple news articles were already featuring them along with photos of Peter and Tony that had been taken throughout the night.  Obviously, neither of them knew about it yet unless FRIDAY had told them in the last fifteen seconds.  They had been so busy working in the lab since the morning after she was fairly certain they had forgotten to eat.  That meant she had the honor of breaking the news to Tony who would likely mess things up within ten minutes. 

"Mrs. Stark?"  FRIDAY asked.  Pepper hummed in response, jotting down a reminder to call the Stark Industries PR agency.  "Mr. Parker is in need of assistance getting to school." 

"Where's Happy?"  Pepper asked, looking up from her note.  "Or Tony?" 

"Mr. Hogan is on his day off and Mr. Parker refuses to wake Boss up as he fell asleep three hours ago,"  FRIDAY replied.  Pepper sighed.  Yeah, they probably shouldn't wake up Tony. 

"Alright,"  she replied, putting aside her papers and standing up.  "Let him know to meet me in the garage." 

"Right away,"  FRIDAY said.  Pepper grabbed her purse and walked out of her office.  Other employees were just beginning to arrive, reminding Pepper just how early she'd decided to come in today.  It was barely 7:30 in the morning and she'd already been in her office for nearly thirty minutes.  However, the three had spent the night at the Compound when Tony and Peter refused to leave the lab, so it was easy for her to get to her office early. 

When she arrived in the garage, Peter was waiting for her by the key rack, happily playing a game on his phone.  She smiled and greeted him softly, but he still jumped in surprise.  Apparently his game had been interesting enough he hadn't heard her approach.  He put his phone away, giving her and embarrassed smile and following her to the Audi she'd chosen. 

"Good morning, Mrs. Stark,"  Peter said.  Pepper gave him a look and his face reddened even more.  He tried ducking his head down to hide his obvious embarrassment at forgetting to call her 'Pepper' yet again.  Pepper laughed softly and gave him a side hug as they walked to the car. 

"How are you doing, Peter?"  she asked, releasing him so they could climb into their separate sides of the car. 

"Good,"  Peter answered, stuffing his backpack between his feet and fastening his seat belt.  "Mr. Stark and I finished my new Spider-Man suit.  Well, actually Mr. Stark did.  He said he was going to finish up then go to bed, but FRIDAY said he stayed up until 4:17AM finishing it up before falling asleep, so I didn't want to wake him after he'd worked so hard on my suit.  I'm sorry you have to stop work to take me to school,"  Peter said. 

"Don't worry about it, Peter,"  Pepper assured him, pulling onto the freeway and speeding towards Queens.  "I went in early anyway and I have to stop at Stark Industries PR agency which I can do on my way back." 

"Oh,"  Peter said, nodding as if it was obvious. 

"Don't hesitate to call me if you ever need me to take over for Tony sometimes,"  Pepper told him.  He nodded again then they fell into silence, Peter gazing out the window at the passing New York buildings and Pepper focusing on not screaming in frustration at all the drivers around her. 

When they arrived at Peter's school, he had ten minutes before class.  Due to Pepper's slightly aggressive driving and knowledge of backstreets after a particularly bad pile up on the freeway, they made it right when Peter usually arrived.  Kids were pouring out of cars and from around the street corners, headed into the large building.  Pepper pulled around to the front of the building and let the Audi idle while Peter tugged his backpack up from its spot on the ground. 

"Have a good day, Peter,"  Pepper said, kissing his cheek quickly.  He grinned and hugged her tightly, almost surprising her. 

"Thanks for letting me stay the weekend while Aunt May was gone,"  he replied. 

"Anytime,"  she replied, letting him go.  He slipped out of the car and pulled his backpack over his shoulders.  He took a couple steps before remembering to shut the door.  Pepper smiled warmly at him and he waved before shutting the door and bounding up the front steps.  Pepper headed out of the parking lot slowly, trying not to run over any students.  Once she was on the main streets, she let FRIDAY auto pilot while she called her PR agent, asking to meet with her in half an hour due to recent events. 


	3. Chapter 3

As Peter stepped into the building, he became aware of all the stares directed at him.  He slowed his pace just a bit, looking around at all the people staring or whispering.  He could hear what they were saying, but it didn't make sense.  How would they know about the gala he'd been to?  Why were they asking each other if he was actually Tony Stark's son?  That just seemed absurd!  Sure, he knew the man, but that didn't mean he was related to them.  Besides, just last week people still doubted his internship.  Why would they suddenly be wondering if he was related to Mr. Stark? 

"Peter!"  Ned called, waving at him from where his head had been buried in his locker moment before.  Peter, relieved to have a reason to hurry away from the entry way, scurried over to his best friend to see what was going on. 

"Hey, man,"  Peter grinned, initiating the handshake he and Ned had had since middle school.  "How was your weekend?"  he asked once they'd finished. 

"It was fine,"  Ned shrugged.  He grabbed his books and dropped them into his backpack.  "How was yours?  Pretty interesting I'd imagine." 

"What's that supposed to mean?"  Peter asked, walking with Ned further down the hall to his locker.  Ned rolled his eyes. 

"You know, the whole gala,"  Ned said, nudging Peter.  "Michelle's gonna be either really pissed or really happy you didn't invite her."  Peter gave him a look. 

"She had a family thing,"  Peter told him, stopping in front of his locker.  "Did you tell the whole school about that?  Everyone's talking about it." 

"You don't know,"  Ned stated, rather than asked.  He stared at Peter as if it was the most blasphemous thing he'd ever heard, confusing Peter all the more. 

"What?  Am I missing something?  I feel like I am,"  Peter said, turning to face Ned better. 

"Oh, you definitely are, Stark,"  a voice from behind him said.  Peter spun on his heel to find Michelle standing behind him, phone held up to his face.  He took it from her hand, ignoring the fact she'd called him Stark, and read the article she had pulled up.  It didn't take long for him to finish skimming the article and hand the phone back to her. 

"That's insane!"  Peter exclaimed.  Michelle shrugged and pocketed her phone. 

"You do practically live with him,"  she reminded him.  Peter rolled his eyes and grabbed his books from his locker.  "I guess now the public knows." 

"But there's nothing to know,"  Peter stressed.  He slammed his locker harder than expected, denting it slightly and causing Ned to jump.  Michelle didn't so much as blink at the noise.  Peter groaned and fell against his locker, pressing his forehead to the cool metal. 

"Is there a reason you're not happy about being called Mr. Stark's son?"  Ned asked.  Peter bit his lip, arguing with himself for a moment.  He hadn't told Ned Mr. Stark planned on him taking over Stark Industries.  As much as he loved his friend, he knew Ned told his mom and family absolutely everything.  Since they were trying to keep that particular secret under wraps, telling Ned hadn't seemed like the wisest idea. 

"It's nothing,"  Peter decided.  He wasn't going to tell Ned without getting permission first.  He'd waited this long to tell his friend, he might as well wait until the day they released the information to the news. 

"What are you gonna do about it?"  Ned asked, walking beside Peter to their first class.  "Are you going to become famous?  What happens to you know what when you become famous?" 

"Relax, Ned,"  Michelle said, walking on Peter's other side.  "I'm sure Pepper has it all figured out."  At that, Peter suddenly remembered his conversation with Pepper in the car.  She was going to meet with the Stark Industries PR agents.  There was no way she didn't know about this, right?  Maybe he should text her just in case. 

"Speaking of Pepper, I'm gonna make sure she knows about this,"  Peter muttered, pulling out his phone.  He tapped on Pepper's contact and sent her a quick text, telling her about the article Michelle had shown him before returning his phone to his pocket. 

"Enjoy English, losers,"  Michelle said, throwing up a peace sign as Ned and Peter broke off to enter a classroom. 

"Have fun in advanced studying,"  Peter retorted.  Michelle glared at him before turning around and nearly colliding with another kid. 

"Watch it!"  she exclaimed, causing Peter to shake his head with a slight smile as he walked into the classroom.  At least nothing with his friends had changed.  Maybe Pepper could fix everything quickly and nothing at school would change either. 


	4. Chapter 4

Pepper wouldn't consider her meeting with the PR agency a success.  Not only were they unable to get Pepper private interviews to clear up the articles on Peter and Tony, they insisted on moving the announcement of Peter as Tony's heir a week earlier.  That meant they would have less than seven days to prepare.  She'd argued with them about it, insisting they wait until Peter graduated.  She didn't want him to be overwhelmed with finals and the attention being the heir to Stark Industries would bring.  However, the argument led to nothing as the agents had informed her halfway through that they'd already moved it and cancelled the other date.  She hadn't refrained from letting them know just how upset she was after that.  Ultimately, she fired them and walked out of the agency without any PR reps or a planned date for Peter's appearance (aside from the one in a week). 

"FRIDAY, where's the nearest spa?"  Pepper asked after she'd found her car.  She dropped her head into her hands and rubbed her forehead.  Were headaches supposed to be this common? 

"The nearest spa is 4 minutes away,"  FRIDAY answered.  Pepper turned the car on and fastened her seat belt.  After navigating out of the parking lot, she had FRIDAY autopilot to the spa and park for her.  "We're here,"  FRIDAY announced.  Pepper looked up from where she'd been resting her head on the steering wheel and sighed.  Hopefully the wouldn't have a line. 

She walked inside and was pleased to find the waiting room completely empty.  An employee was working on a computer at the front desk, but when Pepper walked in, she looked up and smiled.  It didn't take long for Pepper to get an appointment.  She'd have to wait fifteen minutes, but she didn't care.  She needed to wind down after her meeting with the—now old—PR agents.  She could easily wait fifteen minutes for a massage so long as she got one. 

* * * * *

Tony woke up to Dum-E and Butterfingers poking him worriedly.  He groaned and swatted them away.  Reluctantly, he sat up and rubbed his eyes.  The hologram clock in the centre of the lab read 1:48PM, meaning he'd been asleep for a solid nine and a half hours after 37 hours of being awake.   _Not so bad,_   he thought to himself.  He'd definitely gone longer hours with less sleep and he would have, but Peter had forced him to go to bed after their day in the lab on Saturday.  He'd only slept for a couple hours, lying when Peter asked and making sure FRIDAY knew to lie as well.  He wasn't going to lie, though.  He did appreciate the long sleep after his weekend with Peter.  He loved the kid, but he was always moving and wanting to do something. 

"Alright,"  Tony sighed, standing up to stretch.  He moaned then blinked rapidly to get rid of his fuzzy vision.  "What's on the agenda for today?"  he asked himself, walking out of the lab and into the Avenger's Compound common room.  He was slightly surprised to find Pepper sitting on the couch, searching for something on her laptop.  He hadn't expected her at the Compound until much later, but he wasn't disappointed. 

"Pep?"  he asked, walking up behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders.  She jumped only slightly before turning around to face him.  "Not that I'm upset you're here, but why are you here?"  She sighed and glanced back down at her laptop, drawing his attention to it as well.  "Publicists?  Don't we have one of those already?" 

"We did, yes,"  Pepper replied, closing her laptop harsher than necessary then turning to face her husband.  "Turns out, they're complete trash and moved our press conference a week earlier without asking and—" 

"Wait, they what?"  Tony interrupted.  Pepper sighed again and nodded. 

"Yeah,"  she replied, running her hand through her hair in hopes of calming down.  The spa had definitely helped, but as she told Tony what had happened, she was beginning to get frustrated all over again.  "Anyway, now we have no publicists and a meeting scheduled to announced Peter as the Stark Industries heir in a week." 

"I'm sure it's not that hard to find a good publicist, right?"  Tony asked, sitting beside her.  He took her laptop and opened it up, typing in her password without even pausing to think about it. 

"That's what I thought,"  Pepper mumbled, watching as he scrolled through the results her search had brought up.  "I've already called a few and they all have this insane acceptance process.  We have to apply, then they'll consider us, then they interview us, and then, if they think we're good candidates for their company, they'll accept us." 

"We could just pay them twice as much,"  Tony suggested.  Pepper gave him a look and he nodded.  "That won't work.  Okay.  How long does the process take?" 

"At least two weeks,"  Pepper answered.  Tony whistled as he clicked on another website. 

"Too long,"  he said.  Pepper agreed.  "You were my PR agent for a while, weren't you?"  Pepper nodded, an eyebrow raised at his attempt to pretend he didn't know everything about her.  "Could you just act as the publicist for SI until we get another?  That could work, right?"  Pepper considered it for a moment then nodded slowly. 

"Yeah, that could work if it's the only option,"  she told him,  "It's not my first choice, but I can do it if we need to." 

"Good,"  Tony said, closing the laptop.  "We might need it."  He kissed her forehead and stood up, leaving Pepper on the couch alone.  "FRIDAY, find us the best publicists in Manhattan, New York City, and Malibu.  I want to know if any of them would be interested in representing Stark Industries from now on." 

"Right away, Boss,"  FRIDAY replied, her voice following Tony as he returned to his lab.  He had just disappeared around the corner when he came shooting back up the stairs and peered around the corner at Pepper. 

"Hey, Pep?"  he asked.  She hummed in response, watching him in amusement.  "I love you." 

"I love you too, you big dork,"  she laughed.  His face lit up then he dashed back down the stairs, leaving Pepper with an amused smiled on her face. 


	5. Chapter 5

Decathlon practice was awful.  Not only was Flash a regular competitor this year, but he sat right beside Peter.  He'd gotten much better as they grew older, bothering Peter less and less each year, but today he couldn't seem to think of anything to do other than nag Peter about all the articles written about him.  Apparently there were more than just the one Michelle had shown him in the morning or the four that Ned had shown him at lunch.  No, Flash was asking all sorts of questions about the various things he'd read in online magazines or tabloids. 

"Did your mom cheat on your dad with him and lie about your real dad this whole time?"  Flash asked, poking Peter in the side when he didn't respond.  Peter let out an irritated huff and turned to face Flash.  "Did she leave you a note to open on your 18th birthday explaining—" 

"No, Flash,"  Peter hissed, glancing at Michelle out of the corner of his eye.  The last thing he wanted was for Michelle to call him out for not paying attention.  She may be his girlfriend, but that didn't mean she wouldn't embarrass him in front of the team.  "I wasn't even there, it's some other kid.  If you look closely, we don't even have the same eye colour,"  Peter lied.  Flash appeared slightly puzzled at this, wondering how he could have missed something so obvious.  He might have asked Peter why everyone else was saying the same things as he was, but Mr. Harrington dismissed them from practice and Peter was out of his seat before Mr. Harrington could even finish his sentence. 

Peter made his way over to where Michelle was packing up the practice flashcard, wrapping a rubber band around the middle then dropping them into her backpack.  Ned hurried down the stairs as fast as he could, trying to keep up with his friend but not doing very well.  By the time he'd gotten to the bottom of the stage, Peter was already talking quietly with Michelle.  They stopped abruptly when Ned appeared beside them, but he didn't care.  If they decided they didn't want Ned to hear, then he probably didn't want to hear it anyway. 

"I saw you and Flash had a nice conversation,"  Michelle said as they walked out of the gym.  Peter snorted, his hand flying up to his face to make sure he hadn't actually shot boogers out of his nose.  Michelle rolled her eyes when Peter tried to discretely wipe his nose, thankful when he didn't find anything on the sleeve of his jacket.  

"More like Flash just accused me of either playing Mr. Stark or paying the writers of the articles,"  Peter told her, playing with the strap on his backpack.  He considered leaving out the part about Flash accusing his mom of cheating on his dad with Mr. Stark, but decided he might as well tell his friends the whole things and did. 

"Wow,"  Ned said, staring ahead as he tried to wrap his mind around the thought of it. 

"What an ass,"  Michelle exclaimed at the same time Ned said,  "What a jerk-face!" 

"It's fine,"  Peter shrugged,  "He'll be proven wrong in two weeks anyway and then the whole world will know better." 

"I guess,"  Ned agreed. 

"That's still an ass move,"  Michelle mumbled as they walked out the front doors.  A sudden flash from Peter's right caught his attention and he turned to see what had created the light.  As soon as he had, three more flashes blinded him as cameramen came rushing towards him, yelling questions as they approached. 

"What's your name, kid?"  one asked, reaching out from Peter.  Peter dodged the man's hand and hurried across the parking lot to where Happy was parked. 

"Are you really Tony Stark's son?"  another demanded.  Happy looked up at the noise coming from outside the car just in time to see Michelle about to deck a reporter in the face.  He jumped out of the car and directed the reporters away from Peter, Michelle, and Ned.  Michelle was glaring at them even as she ducked into the backseat beside Peter who sat between her and Ned. 

"Aren't you supposed to keep them away?"  she asked Happy.  He rolled his eyes and started out of the parking lot. 

"I can't predicate when they're about to appear,"  he replied.  Now Michelle rolled her eyes. 

"Clearly they were able to hide so well in the empty parking lot,"  she snapped.  Peter grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb on the back of her palm.  She huffed and looked out the window, letting Happy roll up the divider between driver and passengers.  The car remained silent as they drove from the school to the Stark town house.  When they arrived, Happy stopped at the curb and let them out without saying anything.  After Ned shut the door behind him, Happy drove off, leaving the three outside of the house. 

"Well then,"  Ned mumbled.  Peter shrugged and walked up to the house.  After punching in his code and greeting FRIDAY, the doors unlocked and they walked in. 

"Who wants cookies?"  Peter asked, leading them into the kitchen.  "Pepper got some, but I'm not allowed to eat them all." 

"Ooo!"  Ned said, lunging for the tray of cookies as soon as Peter pulled it out.  Peter set it on the counter and the three crowded around it, chatting happily and eating the cookies until Pepper and Tony returned home. 


	6. Chapter 6

Unfortunately for the Starks (and Peter, but he didn't know yet), FRIDAY had the same luck as Pepper when it came to finding publicists.  Tony had been told their best bet would be a not-so-great company (compared to what Stark Industries usually had) that could take them in a week at the very soonest.  While Peter was working on homework with Ned and Michelle before dinner, Tony worked to set up appointments with the best publicist companies he could find in either New York or Malibu, no matter how long it would take to become a client.  Pepper would have to step in for a while, but she was trying to look on the bright side. 

After dinner, Happy was called to take Michelle and Ned home while Peter got his stuff packed as tonight would be his last night with Tony and Pepper.  He didn't have to pack everything, but he wanted to have enough packed it would be easy to grab and finish packing in the morning.  He was in the middle of folding a freshly washed shirt, Dum-E watching him happily and holding a single sock, when Pepper gently knocked on his door.  He looked up and grinned, telling her she could come in.  He wasn't expecting Tony to follow her in and slowed his laundry folding. 

"What's up?"  he asked, trying to sound casual.  He knew from movies that whenever two adults, especially adults that acted as parents, came into a kid's room, they were usually about to deliver bad news.  He couldn't remember doing anything that could get him in trouble, but that didn't calm his nerves. 

"Hey, Peter,"  Tony said, flopping down on Peter's bed dramatically.  He wasn't sure why it was the most comfortable bed in the house, but he knew that if anyone deserved it, Peter did.  "How's packing coming?" 

"Am I in trouble?"  Peter burst.  Tony lifted his head off the bed enough he could see Peter, looking at him in confusion.  Pepper shook her head, joining Tony on Peter's bed, but less sprawled out. 

"No, we just wanted to talk to you about your press conference,"  Pepper told him.  Peter visibly relaxed as he nodded, his mouth forming a quiet 'oh'.  "Long story short, Stark Industries no longer has a publicist and your press conference is scheduled for a week out." 

"What?"  Peter asked, not sure he heard what Pepper had said correctly.  "What's the long story?"  Pepper sighed then told him how she'd gone to talk to their previous publicist about the articles written about Peter being Tony's son, only to find out they had moved the day of his press conference forward without asking. 

"So they're fired and we're currently working on getting new PR agents for SI as a whole,"  Pepper told him.  Peter nodded numbly, trying to process what that meant for him. 

"We're not doing the conference in a week though, right?"  he asked.  Pepper and Tony glanced at each other before Tony sat up and looked at Peter. 

"Right now, yes, we are,"  he answered.  Peter's eyes widened only a little bit, but Tony knew the news obviously scared him.  He hadn't been looking forward to it being two weeks away and now it was barely a week away.  "However, Pepper is going to work on moving it back to the original date so you have more time to mentally prepare,"  Tony assured him. 

"Okay,"  Peter said softly, looking down at his half folded laundry.  "Does Aunt May know?" 

"I did text her what had happened since she saw the articles as well,"  Pepper told him.  She promised him that May wasn't blaming him at all for it (he didn't have to say anything for her to know Peter's mind had drifted that direction) and that she was going to make sure the school knew to shut down the rumors. 

"Alright,"  Peter said, still upset that the conference was much closer than planned, but confident Pepper could move it back.  "Oh, can I tell Ned?  He'll be upset if I don't tell him before and it's close enough, I think he can keep it secret." 

"If you think he can keep it a secret for two weeks, then you can tell him,"  Tony said.  Peter grinned.  That would obviously be the first thing he told Ned tomorrow at school.  It had been hard keeping the secret from his friend (it was the first one since the Spider-Man secret) and he didn't like it.  "Now, it's your last night here and I think we should have our Mario Kart rematch." 

"Only if you can handle losing again,"  Peter smirked.  Tony narrowed his eyes at him and stood up from the bed. 

"I won't lose again,"  Tony said, walking towards the door.  He turned back to face Peter and said,  "Be prepared to die." 


	7. Chapter 7

"So the press conference is in a week, but Pepper's gonna fix it,"  Peter said, biting into his granola bar as he, Michelle, and Ned walked off the bus.  He'd just finished telling Ned about Tony's plan to announce him as the heir of Stark Industries.  He'd also told them both about the incident with the publicists. 

"Wow,"  Ned said for the fifth time, still staring straight ahead.  He hadn't been able to say anything else right after Peter first broke the news to him.  It had taken the entire bus ride plus the ten minutes between the end of class and when the bus actually left the parking lot.  Once Ned had regained his conscious, he started asking Peter a million questions, making him have to wait to tell his friends about the incident with the Stark Industries publicists.  Eventually, though, he told them and now they were headed up to Peter and May's apartment. 

"All I got from this is next week is going to be insane,"  Michelle said, following the boys through the lobby door.  Peter shrugged. 

"Pepper's gonna change it back,"  he told her.  Michelle looked skeptical which sent Peter into a small panic.  Michelle was practically in love with Pepper, so for her to doubt Pepper's abilities in something was a giant red flag. 

"Do you know how messy that's going to be?"  Michelle asked.  Peter shrugged again, forcing the panic down.  Even if Pepper couldn't do it, Tony would make it happen.  He would be completely fine. 

"I'm trying not to worry about it,"  Peter told her.  She nodded and walked into the elevator after him.  The three rode it up to the third floor and walked down the hall to Peter's apartment.  Peter had managed to completely forget his worry by the time he walked through the door of his apartment, but he was met with Aunt May talking into the phone, waving a dish rag wildly through the air to dispel the smoke rising from the oven top. 

"I understand, but I can't make it into work next Wednesday,"  May said.  The person on the other end of the phone said something that caused May to roll her eyes irritably before smiling at the three teens.  "I've told you before, it might not be rescheduled, so I need the day off!" 

"Hi, May,"  Peter whispered.  He pointed to his room and she nodded.  He led his friends back to his room where they all dropped their backpacks by his desk.  Peter shut his door behind them and joined Ned on his bed.  Michelle claimed his desk chair, looking around his room blankly. 

"You need some new decorations,"  she told him.  Peter rolled her eyes.  She said that almost every time she came over.  At this point, he expected it. 

"Yeah?  I was gonna get bring my C3PO from my lab at the Compound here,"  Peter told her.  He motioned to an empty corner.  "He could go right there." 

"Wait, you made a working C3PO?"  Michelle asked, finding it hard to mask her shock.  Peter nodded proudly and her eyes widened.  Smirking, she looked at the empty space, imagine the robot standing there, then back at Peter.  "Congratulations, nerd of the year,"  she teased. 

"Hey!  You're just jealous,"  Peter exclaimed.  Michelle shrugged.  "Just you wait until I finish my R2D2.  Except, he might stay at the lab.  He and Dum-E are friends."  Michelle raised and eyebrow and he fought back the blush that threatened to take over his face.  "Shut up,"  he mumbled. 

"I didn't say anything,"  she laughed.  Peter glared at her, but there was no heat behind it. 

"You were thinking things,"  he told her.  She rolled her eyes and leaned down to open her backpack, pulling out vocabulary cards for Spanish and tossing them at Peter.  They effectively hit him in the forehead and he blinked, looking down at the index cards tied together with a hair tie. 

"We're here to study, geek,"  she reminded him.  He untied the cards and looked down at them. 

"Fine,"  he said, turning to Ned to ask the first question.  "What does 'Michelle es irritante' mean?" 

"Um,"  Ned hesitated, glancing at Michelle who was scowling at Peter.  Peter was grinning back, waiting for Ned's response.  "I think I'm gonna help May with the food while you two study."  Before either one could object, he was racing out of the room and into the kitchen. 


	8. Chapter 8

It was Thursday night, four days before Peter's scheduled press conference and Pepper still hadn't been able to change the time.  All the magazines and reporters that were supposed to come then said they were booked full for the next four months whenever Pepper asked to reschedule.  Some were annoyed with her for asking to change again.  It didn't matter when she explained what had happened; all they cared about was getting as many stories as they could before someone else printed them.  Clearly a surprise Stark Industries announcement wasn't as important as a meeting with Elon Musk or some boy band that was rising to fame.  Pepper was trying as hard as she could, but nothing was going in her favor and now she had to tell Peter he'd be doing a press conference at the beginning of finals week. 

"Maybe we can just push it later,"  Tony suggested, staring absentmindedly at the wall in front of him.  Pepper was running her fingers through his hair, his head in her lap as they talked. 

"No, it needs to be within the next month,"  Pepper said.  Tony sighed.  He didn't need her to remind him why they needed to do it so soon.  Ever since a board meeting eleven months ago, he'd been thinking about it nearly every day.  He'd been given a year to find and announce an heir for the company that wasn't Pepper, but someone that could take over once both Stark's were done.  Even then Tony didn't have to think about who he would name.  Peter had been an obvious choice after the two had gotten so incredibly close a year after meeting. 

"Maybe I should just fire my board members,"  Tony thought out loud.  Pepper's fingers paused halfway through his hair as she looked down to give him a look he was very familiar with.  "Or not." 

"We only have three weeks before they decide on an heir for you,"  Pepper reminded him.  Tony grunted.  Why did the people on his board of directors hate him so much?  Didn't they know how stressful it was to think about bringing a kid into the spotlight?  If only they would let him just tell them, write it into his will, and be done with it until Peter was older. 

"But it's finals week,"  Tony groaned.  Pepper nodded.  "He's already going to be stressed, I don't want to add to it." 

"I know,"  Pepper sighed,  "But he's a smart kid.  He'll figure it out." 

"Doesn't mean he should,"  Tony mumbled, his voice muffled by the arm he'd thrown over his face out of frustration. 

* * * * *

After school on Friday, Peter found himself in the backseat of the car as Happy drove him to the Stark townhouse.  He had decided this weekend would be relaxing.  No matter how hard he would have to study Sunday night, it would be enjoyable and relaxing.  He had even cleared it with Mr. Stark and Pepper for Michelle to come over Sunday evening so they could study for AP Physics C.  They'd already covered Spanish pretty thoroughly, but it was an easy class for Peter so he wasn't worried. 

"Thanks, Happy!"  Peter yelled, jumping out of the car and shutting the door when they pulled up to the curb.  He raced up the front steps and walked inside without knocking.  "I'm home!"  he called, carrying his backpack into the living room before letting it drop. 

"Hey, Peter,"  Pepper said, looking up from her laptop.  "Tony should be home in an hour or so." 

"Alright,"  he said, sitting on the floor opposite Pepper.  He pulled out his AP English notes and began running over them once more, just in case he didn't have time over the weekend to study them.  It wouldn't take him that long, but he did want to read through them once or twice.  However, time went by faster than he expected and suddenly Mr. Stark was walking in the front door while Peter read through his notes. 

"I'm back!"  he announced, walking into the living room.  He kissed Pepper quickly and ran a hand through Peter's curls, getting his attention.  Peter looked up from his notebook and grinned, closing it as Mr. Stark smiled down at him.  "How the studying coming along?"  he asked.  Peter shrugged, stuffing his notebook in his backpack. 

"It's alright,"  he replied. 

"Well, I hope you're in the mood for a family dinner, cause I invited the whole crew!"  Tony exclaimed.  Pepper looked up at this and Tony grinned innocently.  "They were all so lonely at the Compound.  Besides, I thought Peter missed them." 

"Yeah!"  Peter said happily, nodding in agreement to Mr. Stark's assumption.  "When are they coming?" 

"We've got exactly one hour and two minutes to go pick up food before they arrive,"  Mr. Stark said, glancing at his watch.  Peter jumped to his feet excitedly, rushing to pull his shoes on.  "Don't miss us too much.  We'll be back soon,"  Mr. Stark promised Pepper.  She just rolled her eyes and pushed him in Peter's direction.  Forgetting about Peter's upcoming conference and finals, the two boys hurried out of the house and into one of Mr. Stark's Audis to pick up enough food to feed the small army called the Avengers. 


	9. Chapter 9

Peter and Tony made it back to the house with four minutes to spare.  They came running into the house, arms loaded down with grocery bags.  Some were take-out while others were not.  Pepper decided not to ask what kind of junk food the two had gotten.  Instead, she helped them get the food ready and the table set.  Peter had just finished setting down the forks when a knock came to the door.  He flipped out of the kitchen and ran towards the door.  He grinned as he threw it open to see Steve, Natasha, Bucky, Sam, and Vision standing at the door. 

Bucky and Sam stood in front of Natasha and Steve, not looking too pleased.  Peter looked at them confusedly then glanced back at Natasha.  She just shook her head, telling him not to ask.  Peter shrugged and opened the door wider, allowing Vision to walk in first with the bowl he held.  Bucky and Sam followed with Steve and Natasha close behind. 

"What is it, Vision?"  Pepper asked, taking the bowl from him when he offered it to her. 

"Wanda showed me how to make pudding, so I figured I could bring some to share,"  Vision explained.  Pepper nodded and set it on the table for him, grabbing a spoon and putting it in the bowl. 

"Where is Wanda?"  Peter asked, glancing at the pudding and dipping his finger in it when he thought Pepper wasn't looking.  He received a stern look, but he still stuck his finger in his mouth to try the pudding.  Surprisingly, he didn't think it was horrible. 

"She is visiting Clint's family for a few days,"  Vision answered.  Peter nodded in understanding.  He knew how close Wanda had grown to Clint and his family.  Especially with his youngest being named after her brother. 

"What's up with Thing 1 and 2 over there?"  Tony asked, jabbing his thumb at Sam and Bucky who were glaring at each other across the table.  Natasha stood behind Sam, beside Steve as she watched them closely. 

"Thing 1 thought it would be funny to hide Thing 2's wings,"  Steve answered, looking at Bucky who simply smirked.  "We still haven't found them." 

"You never will,"  Bucky said.  He crossed his arms and leaned back as he looked at Sam.  "Not after he broke my favourite gun on purpose." 

"It wasn't on purpose!"  Sam snapped.  Before Bucky could yell back, Natasha had her hand raised with a remote.  They froze and returned to simply glaring at each other.  Tony clasped his hands together and smiled awkwardly. 

"Well, let's eat,"  he announced, pulling out a chair at the table. 

* * * * *

By the time dinner was finished, Bucky and Sam could be in the same room without anyone else suffocating from the tension.  Thanks to Peter's ability to get them to play nice, they were at least trying to be civil.  Natasha didn't leave them alone, though, and stuck close when they left with Peter into the living room after the meal.  They were currently playing Uno while Steve and Pepper cleaned up the meal.  Tony said he was helping, but he was really just finishing off Vision's pudding. 

"Uno,"  Sam declared, placing a draw 4 down for Bucky.  Bucky scowled but drew four cards.  Unfortunately, he didn't have the colour Sam had called so he had to draw more.  Peter placed a reverse down and Bucky grumbled as he had to draw again.  Sam happily put down his last card, declaring himself the winner. 

"Cheater,"  Bucky said.  Sam narrowed his eyes at him but before he could launch at Bucky, Natasha was interfering. 

"Alright, Sam, you go help Steve and Pepper clean up,"  she instructed.  Sam grumbled, but stood up and did as was told.  "Bucky, go take a walk and calm down,"  she instructed.  Bucky left the house quickly, pulling the door shut a little harsher than he meant to.  Once it was just Natasha and Peter in the living room, they turned to each other to talk. 

"How's Avenging?"  Peter asked, putting away the Uno cards.  Natasha got comfortable on the couch, watching Peter stuff the cards back in their box. 

"Boring right now, but that's good,"  she answered.  Peter nodded then joined her on the couch after all the cards had been put away.  "How's the last few weeks of high school?" 

"Awful,"  Peter replied.  Natasha gave him a look, silently asking him to explain.  "Just finals.  Oh, and the agency messed up the conference date so as of right now, I'm becoming the official Stark Industries heir on Monday." 

"What?"  Natasha asked.  She sat upright, looking at Peter in concern.  "Have Tony and Pepper tried changing it back?" 

"Yeah,"  Peter nodded, glancing down at his lap.  "They're trying really hard and they're telling me they'll fix it, but I know they can't.  It's okay.  It's only two weeks until graduation.  I can handle that." 

"Peter,"  Natasha said.  Peter shrugged.  "Well, I guess I know what I'm doing next week." 

"What?"  Peter asked, curious and glad for the subject change. 

"Playing bodyguard at a high school,"  Natasha told him.  Peter rushed to tell her that wasn't necessary, but it seemed to accomplish the opposite of what he wanted.  "I can ask Steve to come too,"  Natasha said, talking over him. 

"I'll be fine,"  Peter said, not really listening as they both talked at once.  "You don't need to bring Steve, really, I'll be—"

"—and Bucky couldn't come too,"  she told him.  "We'll be the three muske—"

"No!"  Peter yelled.  He covered his mouth quickly when Natasha raised an eyebrow at him.  "Fine, you can come.  Just don't bring Steve or Bucky, okay?" 

"Okay,"  Natasha agreed. 


	10. Chapter 10

It was Sunday night and the conference hadn't been changed.  May and Peter were both staying at the Stark house along with Natasha who insisted on coming as extra security.  Pepper allowed it without argument, so Peter definitely had no say in the matter.  He was glad she hadn't brought the rest of the team, though, because that would have been a lot more attention than necessary.  The press already knew SI was announcing something big.  If the entire Avengers team showed up, they'd be even more desperate for information. 

"You know what you're saying, right?"  May asked for the seventh time that weekend.  Peter gave her an irritated look and she raised her eyebrows at him.  "Don't give me that.  I'm making sure you're prepared." 

"I know,"  he sighed, his shoulders dropping.  "I'm sorry, May.  I'm just nervous." 

"Oh honey,"  May said, moving forward and hugging her nephew.  "I know.  I guess I should expect you to be on edge with everything going on."  A soft knock came to Peter's door and they both looked up to see Tony in the doorway. 

"Hey, kiddo,"  he said.  Peter smiled weakly and May released him.  She kissed his forehead then mumbled something about going to bed.  Tony stepped aside to let her out of the room then walked in to talk to Peter. 

"Hey, Mr. Stark,"  Peter said, feigning cheerfulness. 

"Yeah, we all know you're not that cheerful, Peter,"  Mr. Stark replied.  Peter's face dropped and Mr. Stark sighed.  "I'm sorry we couldn't fix the date back to how it was before." 

"Nah, it's okay,"  Peter assured him, shrugging halfheartedly.  "I'd still be nervous even if it was still two weeks out." 

"I know,"  Mr. Stark said.  They room was quiet for a moment, then,  "Is MJ coming?" 

"No, she has AcaDec after school,"  Peter told him.  Michelle had promised Peter could skip AcaDec and go to his conference which was exactly what Peter didn't want her to say.  Nevertheless, he would have ended up coming with or without permission to skip Decathlon practice, so he figured it was a good thing she was alright with it. 

Mr. Stark had a moment where he argued with himself over whether or not to hug Peter, but before he came to a conclusion, his body decided for him.  He found himself reaching over and hugging Peter gently.  Peter sighed and held onto the arm that was wrapped around his chest. 

"It'll be okay,"  Mr. Stark promised, giving him a light squeeze then letting go.  "I'll be there, Pepper's going to be there, and so will Happy and Natasha.  May will be on call if you need anything at all, ready to leave work if she needs to, but you're going to be fine, alright?" 

"Alright,"  Peter whispered, nodding.  Mr. Stark gave him another short hug then stood up. 

"You better get to bed,"  he said.  Peter nodded again before standing up and grabbing his pyjamas.  "Good night, Peter." 

"Good night, Mr. Stark,"  Peter replied.  He waited until Mr. Stark was out of the room and the door had shut behind him before he changed into his pyjamas.  After climbing into his bed, he reached for his Spider-Man mask and pulled it over his head, activating Karen. 

"Good evening, Peter,"  Karen greeted warmly.  "How are you doing?" 

"I'm okay,"  Peter said, looking up at the glow in the dark constellation on his ceiling.  He and Mr. Stark had painted them with a special paint so they were invisible during the day, but bright at night.  Mr. Stark had even managed to make the paint glow in different colours while still being invisible during the day, then hired someone to paint the ceiling so it would look like the Milky Way at night.  Peter loved it more than he felt he could express. 

"What's going on?"  Karen asked.  Peter had already told her all about the conference, but she was good at listening so he told her again. 

"It's tomorrow and I'm really nervous,"  Peter said, looking up at Sagittarius on his ceiling.  "What if I say the wrong thing and totally embarrass Mr. Stark?  He'll be upset he let me take over Stark Industries and then everything will be ruined." 

"I highly doubt Mr. Stark will be upset if you say the wrong thing,"  Karen assured him.  Peter pursed his lips.  "FRIDAY confirms Mr. Stark as just as nervous as you." 

"That's not helpful!"  Peter told her.  Mr. Stark was worried?  God, it was probably about how much he'll mess up. 

"Mr. Stark has been under pressure by the board, he is not worried about you messing up,"  Karen said, trying to calm him down.  "He is very proud of you." 

"Thanks,"  Peter mumbled.  He kept his mask on for a little while longer before deciding he should take it off before Mr. Stark sees he's still awake.  "Good night, Karen." 

"Good night, Peter,"  the AI replied.  Peter pulled off his mask and tossed it over by the rest of his suit.  He rolled onto his side, staring out his window across the backyard.  Tomorrow would be fine.  He could definitely do a small press conference without messing up. 


	11. Chapter 11

"I think maybe we should just cancel the conference,"  Peter said, fiddling the the hem of his sleeve.  He and Natasha were sitting in the green room behind the stage, waiting for the conference to begin and to hear Peter's cue.  Tony and Pepper were already behind the stage, getting ready to begin and finishing up last minute details. 

"You'll be okay,"  Natasha said, grabbing his hand and stopping his fiddling.  "There's no way you can screw everything up, no matter what you say.  You're not that powerful." 

"But what if I do?"  Peter asked, looking at her desperately.  Natasha sighed. 

"If you do, then you're more powerful than Thor,"  she told him.  Peter paused to think up a response, but before he could, he was being beckoned out of the room.  He gave Natasha a pleading look but she just shooed him off, promising him he would be okay. 

"Wait here,"  the man told Peter before disappearing.  Peter stood nervously behind the stage, listening as Mr. Stark opened up to press conference by thanking everyone for coming. 

"I know this has been a long time in waiting and the only reason we're doing it is because my board members are on my ass about it,"  he said.  A few people chuckled but Peter saw Pepper shoot Mr. Stark a warning look.  He smiled slightly at the sight and Mr. Stark cleared his throat.  "Here's the deal: I'm announcing the heir to Stark Industries and only ten questions will be allowed.  No one is to talk to him outside of press conferences, without prior approval, and no one is to stalk him and figure out everything about his life." 

The room was silent as Mr. Stark looked around to make sure everyone understood.  Peter's heart hammered in his chest and he could hear the blood rushing through his head.  He didn't even hear Mr. Stark introduce him.  He was only aware it had happened when a stage hand pushed him out, causing him to trip only slightly.  His face heated up and he hurried over to Mr. Stark's side.  Mr. Stark smiled warmly at him and stepped back from the microphone for Peter to introduce himself. 

"Um, hi,"  he began lamely.  The reporters wrote it down and he swallowed.  "I'm, um, I'm Peter like Mr. Stark said, I am, uh, going to be taking over Stark Industries in, um, well, a few years I guess.  After I graduate, that is, so, uh, yeah."  He looked at Mr. Stark for support and was rewarded with a thumbs up from Pepper and a smile from Mr. Stark.  The calm didn't last long and soon reporters were calling for his attention.  In a panic, he pointed at one of them for a question. 

"Peter, how did you come to inherit Stark Industries?  What's the story behind this sudden announcement?"  the man asked.  Before Peter could stutter out a response, Mr. Stark stepped forward. 

"That's two questions,"  he told them.  He didn't step away from Peter, though.  Instead, he stood right beside him, waiting for him to talk and ready to intervene if necessary.  However, Peter looked terrified and lost, so Mr. Stark answered the question, making up a story about how Peter had become an intern and quickly caught his attention.  After a couple years, it was obvious Peter was the best choice and with the board bothering him about announcing an heir, Mr. Stark had chosen Peter. 

"Stark Industries only accepts college graduates as interns,"  a reporter pointed out, not bothering to raise her hand.  "How come Peter got an internship and he's barely in high school?" 

"I'm in high school!"  Peter told her indignantly.  "I'm graduating next week!"  That created a whole new set of questions and the original one was forgotten. 

"Exactly how old are you, Peter?"  a woman asked.  Peter looked to Mr. Stark who gave a nod, indicating Peter could tell them. 

"I'm 18,"  he answered.  The same woman asked what his plans for college were before anyone else could ask something different and Peter hesitated.  "Um, probably MIT.  I've always thought I'd go there." 

"Peter, you're the same kid spotted with Mr. Stark a while ago at a gala, correct?"  a man asked, raising his hand as he spoke.  Peter nodded.  "Are you Tony Stark's son, then?  You've only recently showed up around him, but after bringing you to a gala and announcing you as his heir, it seems like that's what you are." 

"I, uh,"  Peter looked at Mr. Stark for help and he stepped forward. 

"Peter is not my son, just my intern,"  he clarified.  "And you only have four more questions." 

"Peter, what do you enjoy in your free time?"  a woman asked.  Peter hadn't been expecting that question, but he didn't even have to hesitate. 

"I like working in the lab,"  he said.  "Sometimes I spend the weekend with Mr. Stark and we go Upstate and work in the labs all day." 

"What is your favourite subject in school?"  another reporter asked.  Peter was about to say robotics, but remembered he had quit that and paused. 

"I like physics,"  he replied.  He answered another question about whether or not he did advanced classes and the last one was about what he wanted to major in at college.  "Probably computer science with a minor in business."  Before someone could try and sneak another question in, Mr. Stark was stepping in front of Peter. 

"So that's that,"  he said.  He looked out at all the cameras and gave his paparazzi smile.  "Thanks for coming."  He waved then turned and wrapped his arm around Peter, walking with him off stage.  "Was that as bad as you expected?"  he asked. 

"No,"  Peter said honestly.  "But it was still terrifying." 


	12. Chapter 12

Peter had forgotten he had school the next day.  He'd been so happy the conference had gone well that he completely forgot about school until May was waking him up for breakfast much too early for his liking.  He ate his toast then walked to school.  He was in a surprisingly good mood until he spotted the front doors.  Cameramen stood out front and multiple students were talking to various reporters.  Peter stood frozen on the sidewalk, watching and listening as the reporters asked his peers about him.  Of course, no one really had good answers since they didn't know him, but Peter knew that wouldn't stop them from hounding the kids. 

He sent Mr. Stark a quick text, telling him there were reporters outside, but he would be fine.  Taking a deep breath and rolling back his shoulders, Peter started towards the school again.  As soon as the cameramen spotted him, they abandoned their interviews with his peers and ran to ask him questions.  He had to move a lot slower once he was surrounded, but he continued towards the front doors.  He tried his hardest to ignore the people around him, keeping his eyes directly on the doors ahead, but struggled with each flash of a camera. 

"Peter!"  Michelle yelled, shoving through cameramen and not caring who received a sharp jab of her elbow.  She grabbed Peter's hand and pulled him out of the crowd.  Peter happily let her tug him through the doors and into the safety of the school.  Apparently the cameramen knew they weren't allowed inside the building which was nice for Peter.  That meant the only thing he had to worry about were his peers and teachers. 

"Thanks,"  Peter told her.  Michelle brushed it off and continued down the hall beside him. 

"You should make Stark take care of those idiots,"  she said.  Peter shrugged as he opened up his locker. 

"It's not that big of a deal,"  he replied.  Michelle raised an eyebrow but he didn't see it.  "Besides, they'll leave me alone in a couple days once this dies down." 

"Peter, you know that's not true,"  she said.  He just groaned and shut his locker so he could bang his head against it.  "Hey!  Alright, alright!"  Michelle said, pulling him away from his locker.  He had a red spot on his forehead from where he'd hit his head, but she wasn't too worried about it. 

"Maybe this was a really bad idea,"  Peter said. 

"I mean, yeah,"  Michelle agreed.  Peter didn't necessarily need to hear that right now, though, so she continued.  "But it had to happen and it's better now than later, right?  Mr. Stark can help you navigate the ways of the press,"  she said, waving her hands mockingly at the last part.  Peter gave her a look.  "Fine, but it's happened and now you have to figure it out." 

"I just didn't think it would be this stressful,"  Peter said. 

* * *

Needless to say, Tony was beyond pissed when he got Peter's text.  He'd made sure he was clear when he told the press they weren't allowed to go near Peter unless it was for a conference and it hadn't even been a day before they had begun to invade his space.  Peter didn't need that with all his finals going on and Tony was going to make sure they stopped. 

Without Pepper to tell him not to, Tony wrote out a long tweet about how the next time he got a text from Peter saying the press was following him, they would have Iron Man to answer to.  He had just pressed 'send' when Pepper walked into the penthouse on her tablet.  Tony shoved his phone away and looked up as she joined him on the couch. 

"The press is having a field day with the news of Peter,"  she told him.  She handed him the tablet with a list of articles all relating to Peter.  "Some are saying he's your son while others are just talking about the press conference." 

"Yeah, well soon they'll be talking about what school he goes to,"  Tony mumbled, handing the tablet back.  Pepper looked at him in confusion.  "Peter texted me.  There's reporters all outside his school." 

"Oh god,"  Pepper groaned.  Tony nodded.  "I knew that would happen." 

"But I told them not to!"  Tony exclaimed.  Pepper put a hand on his cheek and rubbed his stubble with her thumb. 

"Honey, they won't listen if it means getting the latest scoop on the next big thing,"  she said.  Tony pursed his lips angrily and she sighed.  "I'll deal with it.  Don't do anything, okay?" 

"Okay,"  Tony agreed.  Pepper stood up from the couch and walked towards the elevator.  "Just out of curiosity, does tweeting count as doing something?" 

"Yes,"  she replied without looking up.  Tony nodded, but didn't fess up.  He watched as she walked into the elevator then disappeared before he got up and went to his lab.  He might as well mess around in his lab until Pepper discovered he'd already tweeted something. 


	13. Chapter 13

When Peter got out of school, he was exhausted.  People had been whispering about him all day and he'd been asked to sign various things.  Flash hadn't given him a problem, thankfully.  Peter wasn't sure he could resist the urge to punch him in the face if he said something stupid.  All he wanted to do was go home and sleep for the rest of the month.  Screw graduation; he was taking over Stark Industries, he didn't need a diploma. 

He was walking out the front doors, blaring music in his headphones to block out all the whispers in the hallways, when he ran into someone.  He pulled his headphones off and looked up to see Mr. Stark standing in front of him, an eyebrow raised. 

"Oh, h-hey, Mr. Stark,"  Peter said, pulling his headphones all the way off his head and looping them around his neck.  He could still hear the music loud and clear, so he scrambled to turn it off as he asked Mr. Stark, "What are you doing here?" 

"I came to make sure the press wasn't bothering you anymore,"  he replied, wrapping his arm around Peter's shoulders and guiding him through the parking lot. 

"Oh, that's okay,"  Peter assured him.  "Michelle got rid of them.  I'm okay, Mr. Stark, I swear." 

"Yeah, well I still wanted to come and make sure,"  Mr. Stark said.  He let go of Peter so they could climb into the car and leave the school.  

“Where’s May?”  Peter asked as they drove out of the parking lot. 

“Oh, she’s at work,”  Mr. Stark answered. Peter had figured as much, but it was weird for Mr. Stark to pick him up on a Tuesday after school.  “Don’t worry, everything’s fine. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after your first official day of fame.” 

“Oh,”  Peter said softly.  He nodded then glanced over to see Mr. Stark looking at him.  “Hey! Eyes on the road!” 

“FRIDAY’s driving,”  Mr. Stark told him. He let go of the wheel and Peter screamed.  “See? We’re okay. Now tell me how your first day of fame was.” 

“Only once you put your hands back on the wheel,”  Peter told him. Mr. Stark rolled his eyes but did as told.  

“So?  How was it?”  Mr. Stark asked again.  Peter shrugged. 

“Okay, I guess,”  he answered. Mr. Stark frowned and Peter rushed to assure him it was fine.  “Nothing bad happened, I swear, Mr. Stark! It’s just, everyone was whispering and I could hear them and people kept staring at me or coming up to talk to me and it was really, really weird.” 

“Yeah,”  Mr. Stark said, nodding in understanding.  “I get it. I bet superhearing makes it worse, too.”  Peter nodded. 

“You have no idea,”  he replied. Mr. Stark sighed, trying to think up ways to make the day better when he spotted an ice cream shop. 

“How about we get some ice cream to make today better?”  he suggested. Peter grinned and nodded, so Mr. Stark pulled up to the ice cream shop and parked the car.  They got out of the car and Mr. Stark followed Peter inside. 

"Welcome to  _Pat's Ice Cream,_ "  the employee said, smiling up at them from the cash register.  The young girl immediately recognised Mr. Stark and he inwardly sighed.  However, she didn't say anything as she waited for the two to pick their ice cream flavours.  When they were ready, she scooped their cones and handed them to them with wide eyes. 

"Why couldn't I get coffee?"  Peter asked, licking his cake batter cone while Mr. Stark pulled out a credit card.  Mr. Stark glanced at him just in time to see him panic as a bit of ice cream trickled down his hand. 

"Because I don't want to deal with a caffeinated Peter,"  Mr. Stark replied, handing the employee his card.  "You're bad enough hyped up on sugar." 

"Am not,"  Peter objected, biting into his ice cream.  Mr. Stark rolled his eyes and thanked the girl as he took his credit card back.  Rather than go back to the car, they found seats at a table and sat down to eat their ice cream. 

Peter told Mr. Stark all about his first day back after the announcement, leaving out the parts about Flash apologising for bullying him as that would bring up a whole new set of problems.  He assured Mr. Stark he didn't really mind the reporters outside as they hadn't bothered him the rest of the day. 

"Besides, I think MJ scared them off,"  he said before biting into his waffle cone. 

"Not surprised,"  Mr. Stark replied.  Peter gave him a look. 

"She's not that bad, Mr. Stark,"  he said.  Mr. Stark raised his eyebrows at him. 

"She teamed up with Pepper and I'm pretty sure she hates my guts,"  he reminded Peter.  Peter pursed his lips, recalling the last time Pepper and Michelle had been together. 

"Maybe she'll warm up to you eventually,"  Peter said.  Mr. Stark was doubtful but didn't say anything else.  Instead, he handed Peter a napkin after watching his ice cream run down his arm.  Peter just frowned and shoved the rest of his cone in his mouth before saying he was going to wash his hands.  Mr. Stark rolled his eyes but let Peter go.  He finished his own cone then wiped off his hands and waited for Peter. 


	14. Epilogue

It wasn't easy for Tony to get the press to 

stop following Peter.  However, he managed to make sure there weren’t any uninvited guests at Peter’s graduation.  Once people had found our he was graduating and where the ceremony would be taking place, Tony had to call on the Avengers to act as bodyguards at the entrance just so the ceremony wouldn’t be interrupted. 

“You look great, kid,”  Tony assured for the fourth time.  He fixed Peter’s cap so it wasn’t squashing his curls flat against his forehead.  May was taking photos in the dozens and Pepper was helping Michelle pin her cap down. 

“Yeah, loser,”  Michelle said, grinning at him from where she was standing by Pepper.  “You look great.” 

“Thanks, MJ,”  Peter said. Tony rolled his eyes.  Of course assurance from the girlfriend was better than that from the mentor. 

“Alright, now get out there before you’re late,”  Tony said, shoving Peter towards the room he was supposed to be waiting in.  Peter hugged May and Pepper tightly before grabbing Michelle’s hand and walking into the meeting room.  Tony, May, and Pepper walked into the gym to find the seats they’d been saving and wait for the ceremony to begin. 

* * *

Everyone wanted photos with Peter and Tony after the ceremony.  Tony humoured some of them before sending them away so May could get pictures with her nephew.  Ned and Michelle joined in as well before Tony and Pepper were dragged into the photos. By the time May was satisfied, she’d taken 274 total photos and three videos. 

“Now that you’ve graduated, what’s the first thing you’re going to do?”  Tony asked, throwing an arm over Peter’s shoulders as they walked out of the school building. 

“Road trip!”  Ned, Peter, and Michelle responded unanimously.  Ned and Peter sounded a little more enthusiastic about the idea than Michelle, but Tony figured she didn’t really care. 

“Oh yeah?”  he teased. “Where to?  Vegas is off limits.” 

“Mr. Stark!”  Peter groaned, elbowing him sharply.  Tony chuckled and messed with his curls. 

“We were going to go down to Florida,”  Ned chirped. “A tour of the whole coast from New York to the Florida Keys!” 

“Who’s funding this trip?”  Tony asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.  He’d already paid for everything in advance after Peter had accidentally sent him the itinerary the three had made.  He’d meant to send it to Pepper to look over, but Tony had received it instead and paid for everything. 

“You,”  Peter mumbled. 

“Thanks again so much, Mr. Stark,”  Ned said. Tony waved him off. 

“No problem, Ned,”  he replied. Ned broke off from their group to leave with his parents, yelling a ‘goodbye’ to everyone as he climbed in his car.  Peter waved back wildly even though the two would be seeing each other again in a couple days when they left for their trip. 

“Who’s ready for lunch?”  Pepper asked, slipping her phone in her pocket after hanging up on someone. 

“Me,”  Tony and Peter both said.  Peter turned red and Pepper smiled. 

“Good,”  she replied.  “We have reservations at Red Robin for eleven in twenty minutes.” 

“Eleven?  Who else is joining us?”  May asked. There were only five of them including Michelle who’s parents couldn’t come as they had to work. 

“I thought Steve, Natasha, Sam, Rhodey, Vision, and Wanda could join since they did spend all morning keeping reporters out,”  Pepper said. No one seemed to object to the idea, so Pepper texted Natasha to have the team meet them at Red Robin. 

Peter and Michelle climbed into May’s car while Tony and Pepper went to take part of the team with them.  The rest piled into the one car they’d brought and the three cars headed off to lunch. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't know how else to end this and I've kind of lost inspiration, so I hope you enjoyed the ending. Sorry if it sucks.


End file.
